Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
by toujourspret
Summary: no pairings!--The guys have a particularly awful day at "work." A day in the life of a Gundam Pilot.


Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep  
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by rinoastar  
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Categorization: Ficlet  
Archive: PRAORPOARI, any that ask  
Warnings: none, really  
Pairings: none (shocking!)  
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does not belong to me. It's on my   
Christmas List, but I don' think I'm gonna get it. Please   
don't sue me! I'm poor!  
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Brilliant flashes of light explode beyond the window   
opposite the short brunette. His long brown hair is braided  
intricately and he seemed to be busy doing something. He sets   
a tiny package on a table near the window and runs from the   
room. Seconds later, the package erupts into multicolored   
fireballs and utterly destroys the table it was on. The   
bomb, crudely made of plastic explosives and liquid nitrogen,  
devastates the room, leaving only the tiny window from before.  
On the other side of the window, an adorable little   
blonde that looks to be about twelve looked up at the window   
with wide blue eyes. He seems to be looking for something.  
As he purses his lips, he scanns each window for something.  
Finally, whatever it was comes into view. He raises a gun and  
fires five quick shots. A groan comes from above the window.  
The body of a man, a soldier, falls past the outside of the   
window and lands on the ground. The blonde frowns in   
thought and releases two more shots, then turns and runs away.  
In the doorway, another short brunette, different than   
the first, is busy scanning an unscathed computer in the   
corner. With brutal efficiency, he shoves a data disk into   
the drive and keys a word quickly. A moment later, he has  
the disk in his pocket and a gun in his hand. Firing off a   
complete round of ammunition, he shatters the screen of the   
computer and destroys the disk and rom drives, effectively  
sealing off the source of whatever data he had been   
retrieving.  
As the boy disappears around the corner, another   
figure enters the room. This one doesn't bother with the   
door, already falling off of its hinges from the explosions  
and gunshots. He dives in from the window, a barrage of   
bullets following chase. His wild green eyes are revealed  
as his strange hairstyle flips up. He checks over his   
shoulder, soaked in blood from an injury, and races out   
the door.  
As the taller boy exists the room, another young   
boy appears outside the window. He is asian, probably  
Chinese. His features are indistinguishable in the dark,   
giving him a ghostly apparition-like look. His skin is a   
mellow bronze, his hair midnight black, his eyes sloe, and   
his clothing white. He glances back at the window to check  
for witnesses and disappears into the forest. Shortly after,  
an enormous mech, a Gundam, rises majestically from the   
foliage. It's time for the real mission to begin.  
Out of nowhere, dozens of smaller mobile suits   
appear. They lack the grace and beauty of the first, but   
they more than make up for it in number. Teasingly, they   
flit about it, but it pulls out a trident and wipes them all  
away. Time stands still as angry red lines of melted metal  
streak through the Gundam's enemies. Then, everything   
resumes and the mecha implode, leaving white fire and smoke   
as the only proof they existed at all.  
Four other machines rise out of the trees as the   
first, tall and frightening. One spreads wide wings and   
takes off, leaving with the valuable information they came  
for. The other four stand still, waiting for more foes.  
Naturally, they come, challenging the original mechs to a   
battle they cannot possibly win. Still, they bravely   
fight, and the Gundams annihalate the troop.   
They wait for more enemies, but none come. Deciding  
that this base must have had low security, they leave the   
shell of a once great building behind. As the view of the   
building changes, it becomes painfully obvious. The window  
to the computer room, latched securely in a wall so thin   
that a gust of wind could seemingly knock it down, is all   
that is left of the base.   
The giant mecha fly out, leaving the shambles of the  
base behind them. They inconspicuously land in the desert   
sands, hidden by cloak of night. The sands themselves have   
cooled, making it safe for the pilots to cross them. Five   
lithe shadows fade into the night, slipping into a nearby   
mansion.   
Once inside, the five seperate. Each goes to his   
own bedroom, loaned to him by the small blonde pilot. In  
the first room, the short brunette without a braid is seen  
at a laptop, keying up his mission report and storing the   
data disk for safekeeping. If he does not do this, it will  
not be done. It is his duty to make sure the other pilots  
do their jobs.  
In the second room, the Chinese youth is seen   
practicing his kana. He moves slowly, gracefully, as if   
to some unheard music. His hands slide through the air in   
a motion so familiar to him it is comfortable; his anchor   
in this war-torn world.  
In the third room, a nameless boy sits on the edge   
of his bed, trying to recall beyond the present. He has   
always been prone to amnesia, small bouts occuring from   
time to time. Now, all he can remember is war times,   
painful reminders of how horribly different he is from the   
other boys his age. He looks out at the Arabian stars and   
wonders how much longer will his duty last.  
In the fourth room, the blonde leans over his   
windowsill. He leans out as far as he dares, then leans   
further still. In his mind, danger is not feared. Fear   
is dangerous. One can tell that he is not yet used to   
the danger of his lifestyle, or the consequences. He climbs  
back in the window and wraps a thick blanket around himself.  
His eyes hold a haunted look and he murmurs two words: "I'm   
sorry."  
In the last room, the brunette with a braid is bent  
over his bed, turning down the sheets. Before he climbs   
into the waiting silk, he pauses, then bows his head. He   
repeats aloud a prayer Sister Helen taught him as a child,  
one that has never been truer. "Now I lay me down to sleep.  
I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I   
wake, Ipray the Lord my soul to take, " he whispers to   
himself, glancing out his window at the lights on the   
horizon. Explosions, as more innocent civilians die by the   
hands of OZ. His last thought as he falls asleep is, "We've   
got our work cut out for us. There's millions of people out   
there to protect." 


End file.
